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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I got this book in one of my Fairyloot boxes. I hadn’t had time to read it until now. Unfortunately, 59% of the book was boring to me I was even considering dnfing the book. However, I wanted to know a few things 60% to the end of the book was a lot better! There was little bit of excitement, romance, family relationships that I love. And then when I finished the book and it stopped at a sort of cliffhanger, I now really want to know what happens next.
I have read books before that had the first book rubbish but the second book really good, so I am hoping when the second book comes out that it would be something like this. As I said above I started enjoying the book more from 60% to the end, and now that I have finished it I just want to know what happens next x
I have read books before that had the first book rubbish but the second book really good, so I am hoping when the second book comes out that it would be something like this. As I said above I started enjoying the book more from 60% to the end, and now that I have finished it I just want to know what happens next x
I really enjoyed this book-more than I thought I was going to. I love how it surprised me and didn’t follow the route I thought it was going to. Selah’s journey as a character was very intriguing and relatable and I am definitely happy with how her character is growing and coming into her own.
I can’t wait to find out what is to come next for all the characters and am very much hoping for more Torden in the future.
I can’t wait to find out what is to come next for all the characters and am very much hoping for more Torden in the future.
Great book, great read, I really enjoyed the world, and these characters, going on this journey with Selah!
Selah’s proposal is rejected by her childhood friend. She is sent by her stepmother to Europe to find a suitor. She must come back engaged.
The Beholder was good and I enjoyed Selah and her meeting each of her suitors. However, I felt like she fell in love with her suitors easily and it was somewhat predictable. Overall it was really good and I can’t wait for the sequel.
The Beholder was good and I enjoyed Selah and her meeting each of her suitors. However, I felt like she fell in love with her suitors easily and it was somewhat predictable. Overall it was really good and I can’t wait for the sequel.
I enjoyed it a lot, it is easy to read, and it has a beautiful cover, but somehow the story telling wasn’t there yet? The world is confusing? and some characters felt like they needed some polishing? I don’t know, I just feel like the potential this story had wasn’t reached? But then, I am very curious to what will happen next! So maybe the book was really good after all? It was hard to put a rating on this story.
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I was pleasantly surprised by this book! I was a little unsure going in because it sounded like it could easily turn into a trope corny YA romance fest, but that did not happen at all. Selah is a very relatable character. She's just trying to help her father and country. You see her grow a lot during the book. My absolute favorite part of the book was the alternative history. I want to read a history textbook based on this version of the world. I could have done with a map while reading, so I'm hoping the finished copy will include one because it might help with some of the confusion. You have some countries that we recognize, like England, but then there's a BUNCH that you won't and I really would have appreciated seeing where they were located.
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Expectations: a retelling of The Odyssey and other fairytales
Reality: a heroine who sails on her ship (like Odysseus, you see the link?) and a character named Homer who briefly makes an account of Penelope's myth.
WHERE are the fairytales retellings? I get that the author wanted to be subtle but maybe it was too subtle? Maybe it's just me but: who are Bear and Torden inspired from? King Arthur and Thor? Is that it? The simple fact that I have to guess is telling enough.
Selah's character development took ages.. She appeared childish and naive and I wanted to shake some sense into her. I LOVED that she didn't settle for spoiler> Bear's scheme and I ADORED when she defended Skop. She truly is a badass and it was about time she realized it.
There were too many back stories left undeveloped such as the relationship between Bragi and Anya, the full backstory of Potomac, the tsarytsya's domination, England's history, the dynamic among the sailors, the Resistance...
The love stories (yes plural) would have been believable in different separate books with each boy being the main love interest but in the span of 400 pages? NO. I'm sorry, no. I know she was looking for suitors, but she basically handed them her heart on a silver platter. It was abrupt. Bear went from being rude, to being bearable, to being madly in love with Selah in two weeks. Then, with Torden, there was simply no chemistry between them. Selah herself admitted that it was going too quickly. She was still mourning the end of her relationship with Bear. She thought Torden was nice and forced the relationship because she wanted to get back home to her father and mostly avoid stepping into the Imperiya. Torden himself describes her as "too sweet", it's just too much.
Also since those characters are supposed to be inspired by fairytales characters, they were too caricatural for my liking: the evil stepmother who poisons the heroine's loving but submissive father, the nice fairy godmother, the mother dying in the heroine's youth. There was no twist or depths to them.
However, the book is very well-written and there are some very beautiful quotes. Some quotes are truly inspiring and there is character development; Selah grows from being the innocent sheep to the something not yet a wild, fierce wolf; but close.
Reality: a heroine who sails on her ship (like Odysseus, you see the link?) and a character named Homer who briefly makes an account of Penelope's myth.
WHERE are the fairytales retellings? I get that the author wanted to be subtle but maybe it was too subtle? Maybe it's just me but: who are Bear and Torden inspired from? King Arthur and Thor? Is that it? The simple fact that I have to guess is telling enough.
Selah's character development took ages.. She appeared childish and naive and I wanted to shake some sense into her. I LOVED that she didn't settle for spoiler> Bear's scheme and I ADORED when she defended Skop. She truly is a badass and it was about time she realized it.
There were too many back stories left undeveloped such as the relationship between Bragi and Anya, the full backstory of Potomac, the tsarytsya's domination, England's history, the dynamic among the sailors, the Resistance...
The love stories (yes plural) would have been believable in different separate books with each boy being the main love interest but in the span of 400 pages? NO. I'm sorry, no. I know she was looking for suitors, but she basically handed them her heart on a silver platter. It was abrupt. Bear went from being rude, to being bearable, to being madly in love with Selah in two weeks. Then, with Torden, there was simply no chemistry between them. Selah herself admitted that it was going too quickly. She was still mourning the end of her relationship with Bear. She thought Torden was nice and forced the relationship because she wanted to get back home to her father and mostly avoid stepping into the Imperiya. Torden himself describes her as "too sweet", it's just too much.
Also since those characters are
However, the book is very well-written and there are some very beautiful quotes. Some quotes are truly inspiring and there is character development; Selah grows from being the innocent sheep to the something not yet a wild, fierce wolf; but close.